Spurs, Devin Vassell Handle T-Wolves, Get 3rd Straight Road Win
Maybe the league was wrong about the San Antonio Spurs. Or maybe it's still too early to jump to conclusions.
Either way, the eye test doesn't lie and neither does the Spurs' 3-1 record. San Antonio secured a third straight win in the Twin Cities Monday night, pulling off another upset on the road after throttling the Minnesota Timberwolves 115-106 at the Target Center.
Despite winning by single digits, the final score is still not indicative of how lopsided the victory was.
The Spurs got another impressive performance from guard Devin Vassell, who continued to look like San Antonio's best player. He posted 23 points, nine rebounds and seven assists on 5 of 10 shooting from deep.
Keldon Johnson added 18 points and three rebounds while rookie Jeremy Sochan posted a career-high 14 points.
Minnesota was led by star center Karl-Anthony Towns (27 points, 11 rebounds) and guard D'Angelo Russell (25 points, five rebounds and seven assists).
The T-Wolves took a 3-0 lead after a 3-point make by Russell on the first possession of the game. Safe to say their only lead of the game was short-lived.
The Spurs put together a 10-0 run led by Sochan, who found himself on the highlight end of an early alley-oop and some open looks in the paint. He finished with eight points in the first quarter and 12 at the half, which led the team.
Spurs forward Isaiah Roby had back-to-back 3s in the first quarter and showed impact as a defender and passer, as San Antonio led 39-28 at end of first. It was the most points the team has scored in a quarter this season.
This lead swelled to as many as 20 as Spurs guard Tre Jones scored or assisted on 11 of San Antonio's first 13 points of the second quarter. This was highlighted again by his second alley-oop to Sochan of the first half.
But the Timberwolves put together their own 12-2 run as Russell easily got to his spots and Towns continued to earn trips to the line on strong moves in the paint. He led all scorers at the half with 19 points and was a perfect 7 of 7 from the foul line.
The Spurs held T-Wolves star Anthony Edwards scoreless through the first 20 minutes of the game, but all he needed was a short seven-point spark to help cut San Antonio's lead to seven in the final minute of the half. But a contested catch-and-shoot 3-pointer from Vassell with four seconds left gave the Spurs a 67-57 lead headed into the locker room.
Vassell had more in him coming out for the third quarter -- and apparently, Sochan did too. A pair of 3s from Vassell and the third alley-oop dunk of the game from Sochan had suddenly given the Spurs a 24-point lead behind a 14-0 run to start the second half.
The all-around effort continued from the players that Spurs have been most excited to see this season. Johnson added six quick points while Josh Primo hit back-to-back 3s to build a 31-point lead. The boos (or should we call it howls?) continued to rain down from the Target Center crowd.
Former Spurs guard Byrn Forbes had six of Minnesota's final eights points in the quarter, but another 3-point jack from Vassell gave San Antonio its largest lead at 34 after leading by only 10 at the half. The Spurs comfortably sat in the driver's seat up 103-71 headed into the final frame.
Not that he needed to, but Vassell added another 3-point make to once again give the Spurs an even larger biggest lead of the game at 35. Things started to get embarrassing for Minnesota when Josh Richardson had a vicious vertical dunk in the paint.
The T-Wolves clearly took this to heart and began to take advantage of a lethargic Spurs team that was comfortable with a huge lead. Minnesota strung together a 18-0 run in the fourth but it still wasn't enough. Johnson nailed his first 3-pointer of the night to give the Spurs a comfortable cushion despite a late run from the T-Wolves.
The Spurs secured their third straight win, all of which have come on the road. San Antonio will stay in Minnesota to face the T-Wolves again on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. CT.
You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7
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